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Riverside County, California, Supervisor Jeff Stone laid down the gauntlet to Election Integrity advocates at a public meeting on Tuesday, offering to bet them "a thousand to one" they can't hack into the county's electronic voting machines made by Sequoia Voting Systems.

Near the end of a contentious meeting of the Board of Supervisors, in which the county's five person board accepted the final canvass of results from the November 7th election from Riverside County Registrar Barbara Dunmore, Stone made his challenge to one of a number of activists from the SAVE R VOTE election watchdog coalition. The advocates were on hand to give testimony about problems they witnessed during the recent election, to present their own report to the board (PDFs: Report, Photos#1, Photos#2), and ask that at least one of their members be appointed to a "Blue Ribbon Commission" being convened by the county to investigate problems during the election.

In the videotaped exchange with Stone, Maxine Ewig, a co-founder of Democracy for America - Temecula Valley and a SAVE R VOTE member, tells the county supervisors that she was informed by a programmer that they "had not seen any machine or program that could not be manipulated."

In response, Stone interrupted Ewig's testimony to offer his challenge.

"I'd like to challenge that programmer," Stone says in the video clip (complete transcript of the exchange at the bottom of this article), "and I'd like to set up an appointment with one of our machines and I'd like him or her to verify that they can manipulate that machine. And I'm gonna bet a thousand to one that they cannot do it...I'll make that challenge."

Stone's stunning challenge continued with an invitation to the media --- reporters from several local papers were on hand --- to witness the attempted voting machine manipulation.

"I'm challenging you to challenge her or him and I...I believe we can make that happen," he said. "And maybe we should bring the media in and let's see if your programmer can manipulate that machine. My guess is that it is not gonna happen, but I'm willing to take a chance on that."

How far Stone may be "willing to take" that "chance" remains to be seen. In the wake of the news, which was reported today briefly by both the Desert Sun and the Press Enterprise, several national Election Integrity advocates have informed The BRAD BLOG that they would be willing to put some money on the line towards accepting Stone's challenge. We hope to have more details on that as the matter develops.

Riverside is the first county in the nation to use touch-screen voting systems. Local Election Integrity advocates have, for some time, been waging a fight for more transparency, security, and accountability from the county and, specifically, the county's Registrar of Voters Barbara Dunmore.

SAVE R VOTE member Tom Courbat was on hand for the proceedings. Courbat is one of the activists who, as The BRAD BLOG broke in the days just prior to the November 7th election, helped reveal the "Yellow Button" on the back of Sequoia touch-screen machines which could allow a voter to cast as many votes as they wish on those systems.

He complained during his testimony to the board about the planned make up of the county's "Blue Ribbon Commission." The county is convening the panel to investigate several failures during the recent Election and the "operational problems of the registrar of voters office," as Courbat told us tonight.

Courbat suggested to the board that they appoint at least one citizen Election Integrity advocate to the panel after, earlier in the meeting, a board member had responded to critics by saying they didn't want to include anybody who was predisposed against electronic voting systems.

Courbat countered by suggesting that a mix of those both in favor and against such systems would be a healthy idea for the commission. The board seemed less than moved by the idea, and Ewig then proceeded by opening her own testimony informing the board that members of SAVE R VOTE had not come to this cause originally against electronic voting. Rather, she explained, their current position was based on "their own study over the past two years."

It was then that Stone answered with his challenge. The exchange is available on the county's website via online video here (Scroll to the 2:10:00 mark for the beginning of the exchange. NOTE: This video link may only work in Internet Explorer w/ Media Windows Player. Another video of the same event, from a different camera angle --- with some priceless expressions from at least one of the Supervisors --- is now posted below in Streaming Flash.)

Shamos, a supporter of electronic voting systems, was testing Sequoia's voting machines for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania when he was able "in an instant," as it was reported last March, "to transform a handful of votes into thousands."

We'll hope Supervisor Stone has some deep pockets, as he may have to come up with quite a few dollars to back up his "thousand to one" challenge.

A complete text transcript of the short exchange between Supervisor Jeff Stone and Maxine Ewig follows in full...

Partial Transcript of Riverside County Board of Supervisors Meeting
December 5, 2006

Maxine Ewig is a co-founder of Democracy For America – Temecula Valley and guiding member of the SAVE R VOTE Project Team. She is a retired educator.

Supervisor Jeff Stone is a first-term County Supervisor and a former city council member in Temecula, CA. He is a pharmacist by trade.

Transcript:

Transcript begins at approximately 2:10:00 in the video posted online by the county at the following address: http://tinyurl.com/y38urj

MAXINE EWIG: Thank you gentlemen for allowing the opportunity for this discussion this morning. Before I give you what I really prepared to say to you, I want to make one statement regarding SAVE R VOTE because I'm here as an EOP [Election Observer Panel] representative. SAVE R VOTE did not start out with any perceived intent that paper ballot was the way to go. Some of the people in this room sat in my living room and vigorously argued that there was nothing possible wrong with the system and with the machines. Some people even got up and walked out because they didn’t want to hear someone who was a programmer saying "these things do fail…you can invade them." So please understand that the things that you are hearing today in regard to that is from their own study over the past two years. So, I would appreciate your acknowledging that…Yes, Mr. Stone, did you…?

SUPERVISOR JEFF STONE: …Is it okay, Mr. Chair?...

CHAIRMAN BOB BUSTER: Sure.

STONE: At your meetings that you had, you said that you had a programmer that said he could, in fact, manipulate the machine as a programmer?

EWIG: He said it, she had not seen any machine or program that could not be manipulated.

STONE: Well, I’d like to challenge that programmer and I’d like to set up an appointment with one of our machines and I’d like him or her to verify that they can manipulate that machine. And I’m gonna bet a thousand to one that they cannot do it. …I’ll make that challenge…

EWIG: Okay…Well, I would be happy to pass that name on to you, she’s…

STONE: But I’m challenging you to challenge her or him and I, I believe we can make that happen. And maybe we should bring the media in and let’s see if your programmer can manipulate that machine. My guess is that it is not gonna happen, but I’m willing to take a chance on that.

EWIG: Good, alright, I will be happy to pass that word along and see if I can help facilitate it happening.

Will it be the sort of contest as previously was offered by the e-voting proponents where the e-voting machine and working conditions were to be carefully set up in advance by the corporations... and no one was silly enough to walk into that trap?

Remember: e-voting proponents were still trumpeting that "challenge" far and wide as proof of machine invulnerability ... regardless of the fact that it never actually took place.

Rule number one of computer security: Never give a hacker physical access to the machine in question.

If you want to see rock-solid software for voting machines all you have to do is put the code in the public domain and make it an open-source project. If they did that, vote-flipping, lost votes, and software errors would disappear overnight. Security holes would vanish, and anyone who knows what they're looking at could come along and cry foul if they see something shady going on.

I'd be willing to bet $10k (against his $10M - I'd have to see some verification that he can pay if he loses). Given preparation time with the machine, I'd even be willing to participate on the programming team and recruit others. I've been programming games and other low level systems for 20 years and doubt that these software+hardware systems could get between me and 10 million legal $, given enough behind the scenes examination (which any insider at the dept of elections would be able to get).

LOL too funny, what a maroon. I'll chip in $100. The bigger this bet gets the more the press will flock to cover it. *IF* he really ponies up the money (not bloody likely this clown is worth hundreds of millions), this should be national news.

Why doesn't Harri Hursti take the bet, for a lot of money??? It would be good publicity to prove it under high profile circumstances. Has someone like Harri Hursti taken the bet? Has anyone taken the bet?

What is this guy's comments on the Hursti Hack, Princeton, and Bev Harris?

Yo Dredd! The important thing is for one of the machines used in the "election" to be truly randomly selected!!! PS - I'm really glad to see you posting here again, and I hope I didn't piss you off too much, lo these many moons ago - I hope you were immersed in a political campaign, rather than pouting - it fits my image of you ever so much better )

The preznit blush has just indicated, in a press conference with tiny blurr of england, that he is going to stay the course ("stay the coarse") and not follow the ISG findings.

The election officials are from the same state as the preznit ... the state of denial.

Yo czaragorn, I have been litigating a case against the gov which could make new law. Will reveal more later. Plus I have been dancing with the Ewoks.

The empire will strike back. The new congress will be under attack from the burnt out minority republicans and the witless administration. Lets not turn on them because they do not have 2/3 to override presidential vetos, but lets use the attacks on them to bring a good president into power, and add a bunch of independents who will caucus with them (excluding Lieburrman).

I'd pony up a grand.. and split the winnings with Brad, to donate to where he thought it would best be used..

Only, isn't gamblling illegal without a liscense? Can't this guy be brought up on some charges, as a public official, illegally wagering?

Find us the hacker that can do it.. convince me he can do it.. and I'll PayPal ya $1,000. Baby needs some new shoes!

And, Dredd, I'll only not harp on the Dems for not being able to veto Shrubby because they don't have a 2/3s ONLY if they actually push some DECENT legislation up that Shrubby vetos. I'll give credit where credit is due.. but up to now, the Dems seem to be exhibiting the one fatal flaw "bleeding heart liberals" have.. and that's not being willing to stick in the knife and twist. Giving Hastert nice diggs? Giving GOP senior staffers severence packages? being nice to the group that just pissed down your back for 12 years? That smacks of ignorance, to me. Tollerance only applies to those that don't go out of their way to screw you over... and the GOP and religious right have gone WAY out of their way to cause grief.. like to the basement to have legitimate meetings out of the way. I have no faith in the Dems to make the proper stink, and I'll be -very- suprised if they make any kind of significant stink at all.

Say, doesn't that troll, the one who lives under the bridge, look a lot like that Jeff Stone guy, who lost his house to some hacker from out east? Poor bastard's family split on him, the county fired him, he made the cover of Business Week and Time wearing the dunce cap his bankruptcy agreement forced him to. And look how nicely the cuts on his wrists healed up...

I just called Supervisor Stone's office (951) 955-1030 and asked if this was the number I call to place my bet.
I told her I had read in the news that Supervisor Stone is offering 1000 to 1 odds that his machine can't be hacked.
The woman on the phone first thought it was a joke, then got very angry with me. I asked if this was the wrong supervisor Stone's office, the wrong Riverside County California? And she disconnected.... ah well, fun times.

""Just push the yellow button and you can vote as many times as you want," Tom Courbat, an Election Integrity advocate from Riverside County, California informed The BRAD BLOG tonight. Not that we're in any mood to report more such stories, but this seems to be a big one. A very big one.

It seems there's a little yellow button on the back of every touch-screen computer made by Sequoia Voting Systems, that allows any voter, or poll worker, or precinct inspector to set the system into "Manual Mode" allowing them to cast as many votes as they want."

You get immediate death and nationally all electronic voting machines get expedited to be squished under a steamroller, if the machine or it's results get manipulated or fail. (could be as simple as bumping the power cord, or overheating, or EM pulse, RF interference, etc.)

I dare you to take that bet.

All your trying to do is play a psyop game with the public while diverting their attention away from the physics of electronics, digitized data, and networks.

I'd like to be in for $100, but only if he can prove ahead of time he has the money to pay it off. Brad, drop me a line if this turns out to be real, and I'll try to make arrangements.
It will be interesting to see his face when the machine belches and does what the hacker wants in spades.
Of course, the conditions should also be that the machine is picked at random (since Sequoia can't possibly afford to make ALL the machines they sold to Riverside County secure at the same time, nor can they afford to have someone go in and disable the yellow button on all of them, then re-enable it for the next election cycle), and that the drawing be handled by a disinterested party (perhaps one of the reporters sent by the media to what they expect will be nothing more than a sideshow joke).

Here's my idea: Start a fund just for this demonstration where we are essentially donating the money to an election intregrity group. We put up that money to this 1000 to 1 challenge. If we win the contest (hack the vote) then our donation gets multiplied by ONE THOUSAND!!! Thus, if I put up $15 and the vote gets hacked, Mr. Big Mouth has to pay $15 THOUSAND for the bet. We need to get Mr. Bigmouth to commit to a formal bet, lets say $3,000 for us to put up, and $3,000,000 for him to put up. Assuming we win, that $3,000,000 goes to election integrity groups.

Judging by the response i got over the telephone from Stone's office, there ain't an ice cube's chance in hell this guy will pony up the money. Apparently he's nothing but a typical gasbag politician, all hot air with no brain to back it up. He can say whatever he wants and (unless he's threatening someone or exposing 911 truth) it will never come back to bite him

It makes me suspicious that his quote says he wants "to set up an appointment" and "on that machine". Maybe the challenger should insist at the last moment that it be performed on another computer (either different or two) and not with an appointment which makes me think they'll just change one for that occurence and then change it back after the test. For it to be really fair, it should be completely random.
Brad, thanks so much for all you do.

Wow, if this goes ahead I am sure they will do whatever it takes to ensure Hursti can't hack it. Stone wouldn't want to have to honor the terms of that bet with the media looking on, would he? How to make sure that this hack isn't hacked?